Discount transit fares for active military?

The Regional Transportation Authority is asking the CTA and Pace to consider giving active-duty military personnel a break on fares. Metra already allows soldiers in uniform to ride trains for half the regular fare.

The timing of the RTA's request isn't great, considering both the CTA and Pace are threatening drastic fare hikes and service cuts if they don't get additional funding from Springfield.

But both agencies said the discount program is something they'll consider once the current budget impasse is resolved. If it gets resolved, the way Governor Blagojevich and the legislature are going.

If the Regional Transportation Authority wants to "help the troops" then they need to start drawing up a plan for how we're going to destroy that hundred-year-old track system and replace it with a model that is a better fit for the times we live in.

Posted by: Anonymous | July 2, 2007 01:20 PM

Hi Anonymous, please elaborate how the RTA can "help the troops" to destroy that hundred-year-old track system and replace it with a model that is a better fit, when the entire American Government can not fight and finish a war in Iraq or find a man in a cave in Afghanistan?

Do you really trust the people in charge of the American troops and the RTA to do this oh bright one?

Not that this is a political forum, but they are not fighting for our freedom, if they were they would be fighting the Patriot Act (ironic, ain't it). Anyway, are there that many active duty people using public transportation that it would make a difference? If there isn't then why do it? I don't know, it seems like a silly empty gesture. Especially when so many may come home needing extensive health care or a decent job which will require a lot more than just a silly empty gesture.

Considering all of the slowdowns, noise, and crumminess of our CTA, our fighting men and women who are new to the CTA might be more insulted with their experience than grateful.

"People are fighting a war which is unjust so you can post such silliness to your blog and I can retort with sarcasm."

Your statement supports two opposite viewpoints at once. It's quite confusing. If this war that you speak of is unjust, wouldn't it be working against the cause of freedom and democracy instead of for it? If so, wouldn't such a war undercut freedom of the press as well?

"As long as we fight in senseless wars, why not give them a break?"

Again, there is no privilege in waiting twenty minutes on a platform for a train to come only to have to cram onto the car with 200 other people like a sardine and chug 6 miles per hour in full on molasses mode just to move five miles.

If the Regional Transportation Authority wants to "help the troops" then they need to start drawing up a plan for how we're going to destroy that hundred-year-old track system and replace it with a model that is a better fit for the times we live in.

People are fighting a war which is unjust so you can post such silliness to your blog and I can retort with sarcasm. Think about it, is it really that terrible or are the people who make the large salaries at RTA, CTA or Pace, who pollute the air with their fancy cars more worse than giving an active duty military person a break on public transportation fare? Hell, the people who operate the mass transit vehicles do not ride them. Watch how they jump off and run to their cars.

As long as we fight in senseless wars, why not give them a break? The five hundred million to a trillion and a half dollars spent on the Iraq war could have solve all types of financial turmoil in Ameerica.

Give military personnel the break and when the war is over they have six months grace period before paying full fare again.

Gov. Rod Blago is just as terrible as Prez Bush, one can't find money to budget for CTA or RTA, but goes into overtime at taxpayers expense, the other still can't find a guy in a cave, and he has access to all the U.S taxpayers money. And damn if he ain't using it all.

Is it just me or is there something wrong with this picture?

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